Dental Elective Placements in Bolivia

If you choose to do your Dentistry Elective in Bolivia, you will work at a Centro de Salud, which are public health clinics offering free health-care to everyone in Cochabamba. Students are assigned to a specific Centro de Salud and will work as a dental assistant alongside the qualified local dentists. As a Dentistry Elective student, you can work in a specific area of dentistry as agreed in advance with your university.

You could observe and help with a huge variety of dental procedures, from fillings to root canals and tooth extractions, and you have the opportunity to observe complex orthodontic surgeries. The public health system in Bolivia offers dental care and education to children and adults of all ages.

Dentistry Elective students have in the past worked on outreach programmes, including fluoride campaigns. When the outreach work takes place, it is carried out with volunteers on our Care programme.

Staff Support in Bolivia

Projects Abroad have experienced in country staff who will be able to ensure the requirements of your Dentistry Elective are met. You will be given a supervisor who will coordinate your placement. Your supervisor will be a qualified dentist. They will be keen to test out your knowledge, as well as giving you the benefit of their training and experience.

The Centros de Salud are open all day, from 8am - 12 noon and 2pm - 6pm. Students usually work either the morning or afternoon shift, but depending on your energy, you could also choose to work a full day.

Requirements for Dentistry Elective Students in Bolivia

Students on a Dentistry Elective in Bolivia should be aged 18 or older and will need intermediate Spanish in order to communicate directly with the majority of doctors and patients. Many students who lack confidence in their Spanish language ability take a Spanish Language course or join a Teaching or Care project before joining their Medicine & Healthcare programme. This gives you the opportunity to improve your language skills before starting the medical part of your placement.

While in Bolivia with Projects Abroad, you will live with a host family, allowing you to immerse yourself into Bolivian life. You can also spend your free time socialising with our volunteer community and experiencing the delights of Cochabamba.

Please be aware that most universities have deadlines by which time your Elective application paperwork must be completed. If your university needs information on the hospital or clinic in which you will be placed, or requires forms to be signed by your project supervisor, we strongly advise completing our application form at least one month before this deadline. We can only provide this detailed information once you have applied and been accepted onto an Elective placement with us.